Australia were dealt a worrying blow on Tuesday ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after ace all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was forced to retire injured during the 15th match of the Big Bash League (BBL).
Stoinis, 36, is part of Australia’s 15-member provisional squad for the upcoming mega event and is currently leading the Melbourne Stars in the BBL.
The right-hander came out to bat with the Stars struggling at 43-3 in 8.3 overs as they chased a modest target of 84 runs.
The captain made 23 off 20 balls with the help of a six and a boundary before a short ball of good length from Jamie Overton hit his thumb during the 14th over of the game, and Stars needed just two runs to win.
After the blow, Stoinis immediately took off his glove and called the physical therapist. He eventually left the field and later provided an update on his injury during the post-match presentation, noting that a scan was necessary.
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“I think they’ll probably do the scan, but I think it’s okay,” he said.
“I think it’s just kind of a caution at the end, when you’re near the end of an inning. Initially, it feels like nothing, and then after about 10 seconds you feel something.”
And I guess it’s probably not worth the risk at that stage of the game. And to be honest, their guys were really good. lynny [Chris Lynn] and shorty [Matt Short] He came over and said, buddy, get off. You have two races left, so get off. In the end the decision was the right one,” concluded Stoinis.
Provisional Australian team: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
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